I still don't own TMNT. At least Maddie's all mine.

This chapter belongs to Michelangelo. He takes on Donny's role as doctor when Maddie comes down with chicken pox. Tons of cuteness. Lot's of fun.

Thank you to my reviewers.


Mikey loved his life. April and Casey were off to deliver some old stuff to a buyer in Pennsylvania; Leo and Master Splinter were at Casey's Grandma's farm for a meditation retreat; and Raph had just come home requiring the services of 'Dr. Don', which left Mikey as the sole babysitter for one Madeline O'Neil-Jones for an entire weekend.

Oh the plans he had! A Silver Sentry movie marathon! Maybe she would finally let him teach her the fine art of the belch. A couch cushion fort! Kids loved that kind of stuff, at least they did in all the books he read.

He popped his head through the window. "'Llo? Anybody home?"

"Mikey, thank goodness you're here! April's goin' nuts wantin' ta hit the road." "Never fear, the Turtle Titan is here!" "Yeah, yeah, just get your butt downstairs April wants to talk to ya."

"…No sugar after six thirty, no staying up past her bedtime, and fruit or veggies with every meal." April checked every item on the babysitter's rule list. "Oh, and one more thing Mikey." "Yeah April?" "NO NINJA TRAINING! Last time you babysat I had to explain to her teacher why she gave another student a black eye for saying that Leo was a stupid name for her stuffed turtle toy." April put her hands on her hips and glared down the orange-masked turtle until she was satisfied that ninja-ing would be used only in emergency situations. And with a list of contact info for Mikey and a kiss goodbye for Maddie, April and Casey were off.

The first night was pretty uneventful as far as babysitting goes. They played go-fish, watched Finding Nemo (guess what her favorite part was?), and Mikey made ravioli with 'Secret Mikey Sauce' for dinner. However when bedtime rolled around he began to notice that something was off.

"Hey, Mads. You missed some of that sauce on your face." Mikey said as Maddie came out of the bathroom. She'd just finished her bath.

"Huh? No I didn't."

"Uh, yeah, you did. I'm looking at it."

"I washed my face."

"Well come on. Let's go wash it again." Mikey got up and came over to lead her back into the bathroom. Upon getting closer he noticed that it wasn't sauce on her face it was some kind of mark. "What is that?"

They went back into the bathroom so that Maddie could look at the mysterious red mark in the mirror too. "Whatever it is, it itches. She reached up and scratched it." Mikey noticed something. "Maddie, there's another one on the back of your neck." "Where!" She turned her head to try and see it. It was almost comical to see the girl turn a full circle like a dog chasing its tale. "Unless you can turn your head 360, you're not gonna be able to see it." He said while trying to stifle his laughter.

Wow, that kid had inherited April's glare.

"Eep! You know what, I'm going to give Donny a call. Maybe he'll be able to tell us what these things are." he retreated away from the miniature version of the April-glare.

"She's got chicken pops! Is that like corn pops?" Donny face-palmed. "Chicken pox Mikey. Chicken pox. It's a common childhood disease, for humans anyways. I'll look up some treatments and e-mail them to you. In the meantime, keep her from scratching the sores, check her temperature, and call me back if it's over one hundred and two." "Right. Will do. Don't worry. I've got it under control. No! Maddie! Put the fork down!" Donny groaned as his little brother hung up the phone. Right. Mikey and control. He'd believe it when he saw it.

A crash came from the vicinity of Raph's room and Donny sighed. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave an injured Raph alone while in the middle of the healing process. He seemed determined to get back on his feet and undo what little healing Don had forced him to do so far. Mikey would have to manage on his own.

"Why do I gotta do this?" Maddie asked. "The stuff Donny sent says it'll help with the itching. You want the itching to stop don't you?" Mikey said. The dark-haired girl's eyes lit up. "Gimme that!" she grabbed the stuff from Mikey's hands and slammed the bathroom door. About fifteen minutes later there was a gurgling noise and Maddie called out "Uncle Mikey, this stuff isn't working. And I think it broke the tub!" "Okay. Go ahead and get out. I'm coming in." He entered to a bedraggled and spotted towel-wearing girl standing next to a backed up tub. Mikey stared at the goo clogging the drain. It strangely resembled barf. "I don't get it. The thing said that oatmeal baths were supposed to work like a charm. It's like, an old remedy from way back in the Stone Age. I cooked the oatmeal perfectly. It should have worked." Maddie reached over and patted her uncle's green arm. "Uncle Mikey, I think you can consider this myth busted." The bathtub drain gurgled in agreement.

There was a knock at the door and at the same time Mikey's shell-cell went off. "Mikey's party-line. Fun-master speaking… oh, hey Angel." He went and opened the door. "Fun master?" the purple-haired college student mocked him. "Ha ha. Do you got the stuff?" "Yeah, I got it. Calamine lotion, kid's cold medicine, chicken soup. Poor kid she must be miserable." Angel commiserated, remembering her own case of chicken pox at age seven. "Not really." Mikey shrugged.

"Angel! Uncle Mikey found a fun game for me to play with my chicken pops!" Maddie ran over to them and leapt into Michelangelo's arms. Her face was covered in blisters, but that wasn't what drew the eye. "You know that April's going to kill you." Angel said bluntly. "Hey. The marker's washable. And it keeps her from scratching." "I like playing connect the dots. I'm gonna try it on my tummy next!" Angel just shook her head. "Dude. You are one dead turtle."

Over the next day and a half, Michelangelo obtained a new respect for Don's patience.

"Maddie, no scratching." Ten minutes later. "Maddie. No scratching." Five minutes later. "Maddie, didn't I just tell you not to scratch?" Five more minutes. "You're scratching again." Turn his back and… "Maddie, scratching." "How did you know?"

She was so uncomfortable. Her bed made her itch. Her clothes made her itch. Even her hair made her itch. About evening on Saturday she climbed into his lap while he was watching TV on the couch and leaned her head on his shoulder. She let out a big sigh of contentment and pulled his arm around her shoulder. "Thanks Uncle Mikey." She said. He was confused. "Umm. You're welcome. For what?" "You don't itch." She fell asleep like that and he didn't have the heart to move her. So they both just slept there on the couch that night.

April and Casey got home around noon on Sunday and took over. April immediately went into mother hen mode and Mikey dutifully relayed all pertinent information to her. "Wow Mikey. You handled this really well. I'm impressed." "Aw, it was nothin'." He said. "I'll be back tomorrow to see how you're doin'." he promised Maddie. "Okay." the little girl said with a wave. And with that Mikey ducked out the window.

April barely registered the unusually hasty exit.

Then Casey's voice came from the bathroom "Who barfed in the tub!"


I hope you liked. If you did, R&R.

Remember, reviews make for happy authors.
And happy authors post chapters sooner rather than later. : ) - Happy author.

Next up, Raphael.